COLUMBIA, S.C. - The University of South Carolina has hired its first top scientist with the help of the state's lottery-funded endowed chairs program.

School officials say Richard Webb, who was a top physics professor at the University of Maryland, will lend his expertise to the USC's nanoscience program. Nanoscience involves manipulating matter at its molecular level. The field is believed to have a wealth of practical applications, from creating smaller computers to making stronger new materials.

The state set aside $30 million in state lottery proceeds to help USC, Clemson University and the Medical University of South Carolina recruit top scientists like Webb. The research they produce is expected to jump-start the state's economy by drawing high-tech businesses.

USC's nanoscience program was awarded $4 million in June through the program. That money must be matched by private funds and the interest from the endowment will be used to support Webb's research.

Richard Adams, head of USC's NanoCenter, said the endowment was a big factor in attracting Webb to South Carolina.

"He's not just going to complement what we're doing, he'll be the leader," Adams said. "Nanoelectronics is the most important frontier in electronics and Webb is at the top."

Webb's membership in the prestigious National Academy of Sciences makes him only the second researcher at USC to hold the distinction. Physics professor Yakir Aharonov is the school's other member.

Webb's scientific accomplishments include fabricating some of the world's smallest electronic circuits, ones that could lead to a new level of miniaturization of electronic devices in the future.

Before the University of Maryland, Webb managed the quantum electronics program at the T.J. Watson laboratory of the IBM corporation.

He was awarded the American Physical Society's Buckley Prize and the Simon Memorial Prize from Oxford University.

Since Webb's research depends on sophisticated measurements, a special high-tech laboratory will be built especially for his team.

Webb's salary and the projected cost of the lab were not available Wednesday. He is expected to start at USC this summer.

Harris Pastides, USC's vice president for research, said he hopes Webb's research will bring in big federal grants and attract high-tech companies to the area.

"We're not at the tip of the nanoscience wave, but were definitely at the front," he said.